Torafuku : Worth the hype?

 This was my second time at Torafuku and I was excited that my friends wanted to come here for Dineout 2016. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed for the first two weeks of January so my friend had to make the reservation through e-mail. Those without reservation were turned away. Apparently no one picks up when you call even when they are open. So if you're still wanting to go.. e-mail them.

Another interesting thing was their water! They put a cinnamon stick in it so it had a hint of cinnamon flavour which I actually enjoyed.

We had reservations at 5:30 and when I walked in, it was quite empty. This was when I was able to really scrutinize the interior design of the restaurant. I truly believe that design contributes to one's experience at a restaurant so if you know me, this is the first thing I will do.

 The last time I came, it was bustling with people so my boyfriend and I ended up sitting at the bar. We enjoyed the food - the taste was good and the presentation was excellent.  This time around, I recognized that the wall had some.. odd looking grey fur ball attached to it..It kind of reminded me of  the dust that gets collected from your laundry (y'all know what I am talking about). Also the fans on the kitchen turned me off a little. I also had nowhere to put my coat as there were no coat hangers.

 I had to wait for my girlfriends so I ordered a non-alcoholic beverage. This had gingerbeer, raspberry and some spices to it.

From the dineout menu, we could get 2 appetizers since we had 3 people. We ordered one fish, two fish (sashimi salad with salmon, tuna, geoduck, salad greens, wakame, sasame dressing) and bird's nest (scotch egg, vermecelli nest, japanese mustard pickles, remoulade).

 Honestly, there was nothing special about these dishes. One was a typical sashimi salad and the other was eggs, with crispy noodles. Nothing more I can say about them.

 Their main dish was a winner. We all ordered kare kare (seared beef blade steak, 3 grain risotto, pickled veggies, oxtail, peanut ragu)

 The meat was cooked to perfection, the peanut ragu and the risotto tasted perfect with the meat. I didn't really enjoy the texture of the risotto too much but the taste combination definitely won me over. Let's also talk about this plate. I absolutely loved it and I wanted to take it home with me.

 As for dessert, I got J-E-L-L-O (oolong infused yuzu jello, condense milk icecrea, crispy salted caramel). I really did not enjoy this. As a big dessert fan, this did not meet my expectations. Aesthetically, it was very pleasant to look at but the flavours definitey lacked. Also, there were babrely any crispy salted caramel so it ended up to be a one big goo in my mouth without different textures.

I tried a bite of Mousse on the loose (dark chocolate mousse mille feuille, white chocolate crumble, kumquat compote). Even though I only had one bite, I know for certain that I would've preferred this much more. My friends didn't say much about it so I am not sure how good/bad it was.

Overall, it was nice meeting my girlfriends but I don't know if the Dineout experience was worth it. The main dish was delicious but the appetizer and dessert was utterly disappointing. I am hearing more and more from people that the quality of Dineout has decreased dramatically over the years - possibly to compensate for the set price. I have another Dineout that I will be attending but if that doesn't end up being a decent experience, I am not sure if I will attend next year. As for the restaurant Torafuku itself. It can be pretty and delicious but is it worth the hype? I am quite torn about making a decision about this because I really wanted to love this place but I am leaning towards a "no".

Rei